As one of the top giants in Zhongzhou State, when pa.s.sed down to Dongcheng Wudi, the Dongcheng Clan was arguably extremely prosperous.
The Old Master, Dongcheng Hanguang also had five brothers, but three of them died on the battlefield. The Dongcheng Clan had been supported by him and his younger brother Dongcheng Hanjian all along. The Dongcheng Clan was still a top-level rich and powerful family during that time, and it was brilliant, but the outsiders never knew the pressure they bore.
When in Dongcheng Wudi’s generation, the whole Dongcheng Clan could be said to have really blossomed. Dongcheng Wudi and his brothers and sisters——Wudi, Wushuang, Wujin, Wujiang, and Dongcheng Wuchou, were all real leaders in their own field. They could all take charge alone. Even their wives and sons-in-law were also talents.
Everyone in the Dongcheng Clan of this generation was useful, so that the Dongcheng Clan had become prosperous as never before.
The Dongcheng Clan’s current leader was Dongcheng Wudi, a senator of the Decision Making Committee, who was called the G.o.d of Ma.s.sacre of Zhongzhou State. Although he was not yet a governing magnate, the only governing magnate in the Giant Group relied on Dongcheng Wudi’s opinion very much, which showed the Dongcheng Clan’s position in the Giant Group.
If it was not because of Dongcheng Wudi’s next generation didn’t have any decent man, and the whole family could only rely on the support of the two sisters, Dongcheng Qiuchi and Dongcheng Rushi, the position of today’s Dongcheng Clan would have been even more astonishing, which would be really continuing with the past and opening up the future.
Luojing was raining.
Subtle drizzle trickled down over this ancient capital of 13 dynasties, beautiful and quiet.
An Audi with a military license plate slowly drove out of the airport, marching along the airport’s expressway, across more than half of Luojing District and straight into the suburbs, no hurry or delay.
The mountain that symbolized the supreme power of Luojing was getting closer and closer.
The mountain looked hazy in rain.
There was a vast silence between heaven and earth.
On both sides of the mountain road, armed soldiers wearing raincoats stood motionless, straight, and silent.
The mountain occupied by the Dongcheng Clan was said to be a military forbidden zone. There was a regiment stationed here all year round. Although from the head of the regiment to each soldier, the company’s serial number was under the name of Zhongyuan’s military region, all the lives and wages of the veterans transferred from the Border Praetorian Corps were in the charge of the Dongcheng Clan. It was not exaggerated to say that they were the Dongcheng Clan’s private army.
The Audi with the military license plate pa.s.sed a board with the sign “Military Forbidden Zone”.
The two rows of veterans guarding the junction like statues turned around at the same time and made a stop sign to the Audi.
The Audi slowly stopped.
The captain of the veteran squad quickly walked to the driver’s seat. The car window had fallen before he reached for it.
A very burly figure appeared in the sight of the captain. It was a young man who looked about 30 years old. He was dressed in a military uniform. His expression was firm, and his figure was huge and almost magnificent. Even when he was sitting in the car, the captain could clearly feel the surging suffocating power from him. The captain glanced at his rank of lieutenant colonel and subconsciously wanted to salute. The mighty young man had already said slowly, “Make way. Mrs. Dongcheng is in the car.”
“Mrs. Dongcheng?”
Captain was distracted for a while. He has been in the Dongcheng Clan for nearly five years, and he naturally knew very well about Dongcheng Clan’s important figures. Now those madams seemed to be on the mountain, so how could there be a Mrs. Dongcheng?
The captain was still in a daze. The Audi’s rear car window had slowly fallen down. A very soft and gentle voice sounded from the rear. “Is it Old Xu? When I went to the border camp, I met you at Wudi’s side. Wudi said that you had taken a shot for him on the battlefield? How did you get here from the Border Control Corps?”
Old Xu turned his head in disbelief.
At the back of the car, through the falling window, a woman who looked only about 30 was looking at him with a smile.
It was a woman whose pretty was hard to be described. If a word had to be added on her, it could only be beautiful.
A woman who was so beautiful that she made people revere.
She was dressed in a decent suit, with hair in a bun. There was an indescribable grace in her every move. Luojing’s peony was the most beautiful flower in the world, and she was like the most beautiful peony of Luojing. She was dignified, generous, gentle, and kind. Her beautiful face seemed a little gaunt. While besides affinity, her eyes revealed a hint of majesty that could make people feel pressure obviously.
Old Xu’s whole body trembled with excitement.
The rain beat on the raincoat, making cracking sounds. Under the rain curtain, Old Xu stood up straight and saluted, shouting, “Secretary Bai!”
The woman gently nodded. She coughed and smiled, saying, “I’ve had a bad cold recently, so I won’t get off the car. We know each other, so it doesn’t have to be troublesome, right?”
“Yes, yes, yes. Your health is very important, so you should pay more attention.”
Old Xu nodded repeatedly and spoke almost incoherently. He suddenly turned around and waved his hand. “Get out of the way! Secretary Bai is back.”
Several soldiers immediately stepped aside from the road.
The car slowly pa.s.sed by Old Xu’s side. When he pa.s.sed by the vehicle, Old Xu narrowed his eyes and faintly saw a young woman, somewhat similar to Secretary Bai, sitting beside her, casually playing with a dagger with some dazzling chilling light.
Old Xu shook his head. He pulled up a soldier, and repressed his inner ecstasy, saying, “Hurry, hurry! Go and call the Commander and tell him that Secretary Bai is back. Let him tell the Old Master quickly.”
There was only one Mrs. Dongcheng in Zhongzhou State who could be called Secretary Bai.
A legendary woman in Zhongzhou State’s political field. She was Dongcheng Wudi’s wife, but she was not a va.s.sal of him. Even when they stood together, people could also feel the aura belonging to her when they were upset because of the G.o.d of Ma.s.sacre’s temperament.
She was the former Governor of Qinzhou Province in Zhongzhou State, and now the Secretary of Guandong Province, Bai Qingqian. She was the former Miss Bai in the Bai family, and now Mrs. Dongcheng.
Old Xu breathed deeply. As veterans transferred from the Border Control Corps, they had already handed over their beliefs and souls to the Dongcheng Clan. Anything worth celebrating for this top wealthy family was also worth celebrating for them.
Bai Qingqian’s arrival in Dongcheng Clan was a happy event for the whole Dongcheng Clan.
Old Xu giggled and lit a cigarette. He took a puff and felt happy.
He once heard the old men here privately mentioned his general’s marriage. It was said that in the beginning, the general and his wife loved each other very much. They had been close to each other for several years after their marriage. His wife was a high-ranking female official with a brilliant future, while at home, she was the most gentle and filial mistress, who loved her husband and was filial to her parents-in-law, and never showed any dissatisfaction.
Today, the relationship between the general and his wife was relatively stable, but it was not the same as that close back to many years ago.
According to some veterans who had stayed here for many years, Mrs. Dongcheng had a great conflict with Dongcheng Hanguang for some reason, and they even made a complete break. All of a sudden, she was almost incompatible with him, and her att.i.tude towards the general also became cold.
She also moved down the mountain from that time on. A few years later, the general managed to ease the relationship with her. Mrs. Dongcheng also came back for the New Year’s Eve dinner in that year. Since then, no one had seen her come back. Over the years, even if the general and his wife met each other, they were mostly in their own workplaces. This situation had lasted for almost 20 years until now.
No one knew why madam broke with the old general, and no one dared to ask. Over time, everything about Bai Qingqian seemed to have disappeared from this mountain of Dongcheng Clan. If Bai Qingqian had not met with Old Xu five years ago when she was visiting Dongcheng Wudi, Old Xu would not have even recognized her.
Old Xu grinned. For the first time in more than a decade, Mrs. Dongcheng came home. Anyway, this was a good sign.
…
The Audi went all the way through the lush mountain path.
The landscape was hazy, so was the rain.
Bai Qingqian looked out of the window, watching the strange yet familiar mountain scenery in silence.
A woman who looked in her mid-20s sat idly beside Bai Qingqian, casually tr.i.m.m.i.n.g her fingernails with a dagger, and smiled casually. “Aunt, the Dongcheng Clan has changed a lot, hasn’t it? I remember I came here once when I was a child, when I was only eleven or twelve years old. After that, you haven’t been here, neither have I. Ah, by the way, you seem to have come back once. My father was so angry at that time that he almost came here.”
The appearance of the woman looked a little similar to that of Bai Qingqian. Sitting together, they looked like two beautiful and charming sisters. However, their temperaments were completely the opposite. Bai Qingqian seemed to have a graceful and n.o.ble manner, and she was gentle and graceful at any time. While sitting beside Bai Qingqian, the woman revealed an aura of fierce danger.
It was a kind of imposing momentum that almost blew out, so it was easy to ignore that she also had a very beautiful face.
She was Bai Youming of the Bai family in Youzhou, and also known as Little G.o.d of Ma.s.sacre. She was Bai Qingqian’s niece, the head of Youzhou City, the eldest daughter of Bai Zhanfang, who was a member of the Decision Making Committee. Moreover, she was also the eldest daughter of the Bai family in this generation.
Miss Bai was nearly 33 years old this year. She was still alone and failed to attract so many young talents as her aunt did. She even seldom appeared in public, but in the eyes of some real, big potatoes, Bai Youming was a very important person.
She was a 33-year-old expert in the stabilization phase of the Thunder-shocking Realm, who was about to reach the peak of the realm. She was as famous as w.a.n.g Xiaoyao from the w.a.n.g family of Beihai.
This was enough to show that she had extraordinary talent.
Bai Youming was not called Bai Youming before. Only a few people knew that this ghostly name, Youming, came from the mouth of Great Master Wuwei, the most respected old monk in Zhongzhou State. It was also Great Master Wuwei who came by the Bai family and named her himself. The Bai family was simply not allowed to refuse the honor. What was more, what Great Master Wuwei said when naming her was shocking, and the Bai family had to accept this very strange name.
“This girl’s luck is extremely prosperous and will decline at its peak. There is a sign of early death. Yin Qi should be used as a buffer, so the word ‘Youming’ (the nether world) is the most appropriate one.”
This was what Great Master Wuwei said back then.
Since then, the name of Bai Youming had been fixed. Now the 33-year-old Bai Youming had grown smoothly from childhood to adulthood. Although she didn’t have a great reputation in Youzhou, in the Dark World, the t.i.tle of Little G.o.d of Ma.s.sacre was very well-known. Her progress in Martial Arts seemed to indicate her prosperity of luck.
“Aunt, do you remember that you took me here to play when I was a child? There seems to be a water garden on the mountain, doesn’t it? Let’s go and see it later.”
Bai Youming looked at Bai Qingqian who remained silent and continued to say with a smile.
Bai Qing shook her head lightly and softly said, “I have long forgotten where it is.”
After more than ten years of alienation, she could barely remember the old man’s residence, not to mention the water garden.
Bai Youming sighed slightly and said no more.
Over the years, why aunt broke up with the Old Master of Dongcheng Clan was still a mystery. Even when aunt returned to her home, she didn’t explain anything no matter how her father interrogated her. If aunt had not remained the same supporting att.i.tude towards Dongcheng Clan, the two pillar families in the Giant Group, the Bai family and Dongcheng Clan, would have openly broken up.
…